i think that the congress will act, and that they will confirm chuck hagel this week. what i wanted to do was come down and use this opportunity to first of all thank you all, all of you that are part of the press corps here and the press in general. throughout my 50 years in public service, i have always believed, believed very deeply in the role of the press. because i believe deeply in the role of the american people in our democracy, information is a key to an informed electorate. and while we may or may not agree with every story, in the grand scheme of things, because of the work of the press, i believe the truth always comes out and in and, we cannot really serve the american people well ms we deal with the truth. and so my thanks to all of you for the role you play in helping present that to the american people. what i would like to do is obviously through the press, express once again my deepest thanks to our troops and to the american people and to the president of the united states for the distinct honor as serving as secretary of defense. i was recalling wi